Biosecurity

There has been a detection of the exotic pest, brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys), in Glendenning, Western Sydney. Warehouse staff unpacking a consignment imported from Italy discovered live stinkbugs on timber pallets and boxes, and alerted biosecurity officers. The goods were sprayed and shrink-wrapped before being moved to a container. Bug specimens were taken to Sydney laboratories where an entomologist identified them as brown marmorated stink bug.

The infested container and the warehouse have been fumigated, traps have been set and the premise has been searched for specimens. In all, a total of 38 stinkbugs were detected. Biosecurity officers will undertake a weekly fog and inspection of the premise for a minimum of three weeks after the detection and further delimiting activities will include tracing of similar consignments, additional trapping, and surveillance.

The Consultative Committee on Emergency Plant Pests (CCEPP) met in response to this incident and will continue to meet to determine whether or not it is technically feasible to eradicate. The committee will provide its recommendations to the National Biosecurity Management Group for decision

Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is a significant threat to agriculture due to its wide host range and the damage it can do to vegetable crops and fruit and ornamental trees. BMSB is known to feed on more than 300 hosts, including agricultural crops such as nuts, grains, berries, cotton, citrus, soybean and some ornamental and weed plant species. While feeding, the bug’s saliva causes significant damage to plant tissues.

BSMB does not pose a risk to human health but it is regarded as a nuisance pest because it seeks sheltered places to overwinter such as inside homes, vehicles, machinery or sheds, often in large numbers.

Symptoms: Symptoms vary with host, but spots often initially appear as small water-soaked circular lesions on leaves, stems or fruit. With time, spots enlarge and become tan to dark brown or black in colour. Sometimes leaf spots may be surrounded by a bright yellow halo. Lesions may become sunken and produce concentric bands of tiny black fruiting bodies on the dead tissue in the centre of spots. Salmon-coloured spore masses may exude from fruiting bodies under conditions of high humidity. More

The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources has released the following communique on the tranistion to management of Tomato Potato Psyllid in Western Australia. The orignial communique can be found here on the Departments website.

The National Management Group (NMG) for Tomato Potato Psyllid (TPP) —comprising all Australian governments, Plant Health Australia and affected industries including the nursery industry—has agreed to a transition to management phase to manage the ongoing risks and impacts of TPP and Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso) in Australia.

Nursery and Garden Industry Australia (NGIA) and the Australian Banana Growers Council (ABGC) have formed a partnership to start a new project which will see the existing Quality Approved Banana Nursery (QBAN) Scheme transition from a government run scheme to an industry run scheme.

The new scheme will target priority diseases such as Panama disease TR4 and Banana Bunchy Top Virus, and will provide a superior disease-tested product that is the preferred, cost-effective source of planting material. This will enhance banana grower’s on-farm biosecurity management and assist growers to meet their obligations under state biosecurity legislation.

The scheme will cover tissue culture laboratories and production nurseries but will also investigate the feasibility for clean mother stock blocks and in-ground production nurseries to become accredited for the supply of clean material.

A bacterial plant pathogen has been detected in the Italian Giant variety of imported parsley seed in NSW. The bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CaLsol), is commonly known overseas as ‘vegetative disorder’ or ‘yellows decline’. In most

In most cases the bacterium does not damage parsley plants but has the potential tocause serious damage to some other Apiaceae crops which include carrot, celery, chervil, fennel, and parsnip.

Further information can be found in the Biosecurity Advice link below.